Of Apples and Rings
by StellaHunterOfArtemis
Summary: 'He grabbed an apple from the buffet, and passing by the Poseidon table, yelled, "Catch!"' / In which it takes a distracted Annabeth a whole day to realise that Percy asked her a question, and everyone is waiting for her answer. One-Shot. For Kai :)


_Happy Birthday Kai! I hope you enjoyed this! You are one of the nicest people I know, and you deserve something that make you as happy as our fandom talks make me! Best of luck on your boards (a little pick-me-up may have been needed). Love you!_

* * *

It was a sunny morning in early August when Annabeth found herself talking to Aphrodite. She didn't know what she had done to deserve this; in the entire time she had been designing and overseeing the construction of Olympus, this was the one goddess that had the most complaints and requests than any other (except maybe Ares; they really were well suited to each other).

"Yes, my lady, it'll be done," Annabeth said, bowing while internally rolling her eyes. She had to make a great effort to keep the annoyance out of her voice, which Aphrodite didn't notice since she was adjusting her outfit. She beamed at Annabeth and swooped in to kiss both her cheeks.

"Thank you darling, I really appreciate it," Aphrodite said in a sweet voice, then vanished into a cloud of glitter. Annabeth let the smile drop from her face and collapsed backward onto the bed, groaning. Percy, who had run to the shower when Aphrodite had appeared in the cabin, peeked into the room from behind the door. "Is she gone?"

"Yes," Annabeth groaned, feeling herself lose the rested comfort she had woken up with as she sunk further into the pillows. "She wants yet another change in the temples; apparantly the columns were not quite what she had in mind and wants me to use Bonpierre Rose instead of Rosa Girona, which is going to completely change the entire temple, and I need to redesign the whole thing which is going to be _such_ a pain because I was almost done and next Sunday was going to be the last day and –"

"Annabeth, hey, breathe," Percy interrupted, taking her by her shoulders when she sat up, looking panicked. "It'll be alright, okay? I know it's a lot of work, but if there's anyone who can pull it off it's you. Besides, you just need to provide the design and pick out the materials, and they can pull off the construction soon enough. Don't worry about it, if the gods can't pull off the construction in a week, no one can, so stop stressing, it won't help."

Annabeth looked up at Percy, her breathing evening out as she regained her calm. The past few weeks had been so stressful, with finishing touches the only thing left in the almost complete Olympus, that any impediment caused her to panic.

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth sighed, smiling softly up at him. He leaned down to give a kiss on her forehead, and then pulled her up to her feet. Annabeth kissed his cheek and they both parted ways, one to the mess hall and the other to the bathroom.

After an invigorating shower, Annabeth sat down on the bed to start working on the new design for Aphrodite's temple. While inconvinient, Bonpierre Rose was a beautiful marble and Annabeth got a ton of ideas when she started working on the temple. She got so wrapped up in putting the ideas down that Malcolm had to pull her out of the cabin an hour later to eat breakfast.

"Hey Annie!" Piper smiled when the siblings walked into the mess hall, Annabeth holding papers and a pencil in hand.

"Hey Pipes," Annabeth said distractedly, frowning down at her papers.

"Percy told me about Mom's visit; I'm really sorry you got stuck doing this," Piper said apologetically. Her friend waved her hand, dismissing her apology. Piper just shook her head, knowing not to take offence when Annabeth was in 'the zone'.

The daughter of Athena continued to make calculations in her head as she walked to the Poseidon table, where she had taken up residence soon after she and Percy had turned 18 and they became visiting counsellors.

"Should I get you something Annabeth?" Percy, on his way to put his dishes away, called out to his girlfriend.

"Could you give me a fruit, please," she replied, eyes still on the papers in her hands, which caused her to miss the devious smile that passed across Percy's face. He grabbed an apple from the buffet, and passing by the Poseidon table, yelled, "Catch!"

Annabeth's hand shot up and caught the incoming fruit without her looking up, not noticing the whole hall going silent and people's jaws dropping as they gaped at the son of Poseidon. His girlfriend just began to casually eat the apple while everyone stared at her. Finally sensing something amiss, she looked up, half-eaten apple in hand, and irately said, "What?"

People instantly turned to their plates and conversations under the wrathful look of the daughter of Athena, and whispers started across the hall as Annabeth turned back to her work. Percy just smiled fondly and walked out of the hall.

* * *

All through the day, whispers followed Annabeth wherever she went. She walked to the amphitheatre, which she had found to be the calmest corner to work in the daylight since most people were busy with their various activities. However, this particular day, the amphitheatre was home to a lot more people, most of whom were glancing at her out of the corner of their eyes while they whispered.

Annabeth soon grew impatient with the campers around and stood up quickly, making most of the campers turn away abruptly and scatter. Letting out a wordless huff, she stalked out of the usually calm place, feeling a dozen eyes bore into her.

Sitting in Athena cabin had been irritating, which was surprising considering that it was the quietest cabin when one needed to work. Even her siblings hadn't spared her, with all of them whispering while she tried to work. Lunch had been a respite because of some drama at the Nemesis table (which was nothing new but kept people distracted enough; something Annabeth was grateful for).

Now, though, she was at the end of her rope. Everyone's stares and whispers had grated on her nerves, especially since she didn't know what made everyone behave this way. Her inability to work had left her fuming, and panic was beginning to set in as she thought of her deadline. Annabeth kept an ironclad hold on her emotions as she walked to the swordfighting arena where Percy had a class, hoping that sparring would help her work off some steam before she could get back to work.

"Need an opponent, Seaweed Brain?" she called out as she walked in, armour on and a smirk on her face as she twirled her dragon bone sword. Percy appeared startled to see her, but his face slid into an easy smile as he slipped into a fighting stance, the eyes of the campers darting between the two.

"Alright, you're getting a demonstration before you get to fight," Percy told his students, eyes not leaving Annabeth's. She smirked and brought her sword to meet his, the two beginning a deadly dance in a breathtaking display of talent. Word of the fight spread until most campers congregated to watch the couple. After about thirty minutes of the duel, Percy stepped away from her and said, "Truce?"

"As if I'll fall for that," Annabeth scoffed, faked a kick to his face and swept her leg to knock him off his feet. His sword clattered on the floor two feet away as he fell down. Everyone started clapping and cheering as she held out her hand to him, then let out a shout when Percy snatched her sword from her other hand while pulling himself up and held it to her throat, smirking wildly. Annabeth looked almost offended, then shook her head with a smile as she kissed him. The cheers became louder as they usually did when the two showed each other any affection.

"I'm going to go work now," she told him. He nodded, smiled and kissed her hand, which he hadn't left, and handed her back her sword. She stole another kiss from him and made her way out of the arena, waving to her friends as she passed by them, all of whom regarded her with an air of amusement.

Unfortunately, the satisfaction that she got after working off her anger soon washed away as the whispers continued to follow her around. Even sitting next to Hestia didn't give any reprive (especially since the hearth was in the middle of the cabins). The goddess' eyes had twinkled mischievously when Annabeth had approached her, rather unnerving her. No matter what she did, however, she could not escape the scrutiny that had appeared out of nowhere.

Bidding the goddess of the hearth goodbye after a while, Annabeth marched to the beach, which would almost certainly be devoid of people, all of whom had something or the other to do. Annoyed at the constant attention she received throughout the day, she really needed to get away, and the sea always reminded her of Percy and calmed her in a way only he could. Collapsing on the sand, she breathed in the salty air, feeling herself relax. She closed her eyes and savoured the first peaceful moments she had in days.

Annabeth soon sensed her boyfriend come up from behind her and sit down. Years of having each other's backs and being in a relationship had attuned them to each other's presence. Without opening her eyes, she leaned her head on his shoulder and felt his arm slip around hers. They sat together in the light of the sunset in a comfortable silence before Percy spoke up.

"I know you've been annoyed throughout the day, so I thought you would appreciate a snack," he said. Annabeth opened her eyes and looked at him, then at his hand, which held out a shiny red apple to her. She suddenly flashed back to the morning, when he had thrown her a similar fruit. With startling clarity she remembered the silence that had overtaken the mess hall and the whispers and stares that followed her all day began to make a lot of sense.

"There it is," Percy laughed softly as Annabeth's wide eyes met his own. He pulled his unresponsive girlfriend to her feet and sank down on one knee immediately after, holding one of her hands in both his own, the apple forgotten.

"I didn't expect you to take quite so long, given that you're the smartest person around, but that's fine. I love you whether you're distracted or annoyed, whether you're about to impale me with a sword or kill me with a look. You've been my compass and rock for thirteen years now, and I could never imagine my life without you. I love you so much, Annabeth. Will you marry me?"

Annabeth could only stare, struck dumb, at her boyfriend, bathed in the light of the sunset and looking at her like he always had; trusting and believing in her at every turn. She brought a shaky hand up to her mouth as tears filled up her eyes.

"Now would be a good time to say yes, Wise Girl," Percy prompted, smile steady even in the absence of her verbal consent.

"Of course yes Percy, do you really think I could answer with anything else?" she cried, pulling him to his feet and kissing him deeply. They barely broke apart when Annabeth punched him in the arm.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me! Everyone must think I'm an idiot. I hate you so much Percy Jackson," she exclaimed, hitting him again when he started laughing.

"Not always I can decieve you, Wise Girl," he laughed, pulling her into a hug, Annabeth willingly curling into him. "I need to take my chances when I get them."

"About damn time!" Clarisse cried out, stepping out from behind a tree and breaking the newly engaged couple apart. "We thought you'd never figure it out, Chase!"

"Why is it that every romantic moment we have ends up like this?" Annabeth inquired half-jokingly as their friends surrounded them, offering congratulations.

"It's because you're fun to watch and we like stalking you," Clarisse said in a deadpan voice. "But we do need to uphold traditions…"

"THE CANOE LAKE," shouted Connor, laughing as he had almost a decade ago. Percy and Annabeth met each other's eyes, happiness dancing across their features. Yet again, they were lifted onto their friends' shoulders and taken to the canoe lake, with half of the camp following them when they noticed what was happening, their hands refusing to break apart. Cheers and catcalls followed them all the way till they sunk to the bottom of the lake, still holding hands.

Percy created an air bubble around them, reminiscent of the one he had created on his sixteenth birthday. He leaned down, pushing his hand out into the water, and a ring dug itself out of the ground and floated into his hand, which he pulled back inside the bubble. He then took Annabeth's hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.

"It's beautiful, Percy," she said softly, gazing at the celestial bronze ring with the modest pear shaped diamond center-stone and emeralds and pearls inlaid around it, glinting in the diffused sunlight at the bottom of the lake. She pulled him for another kiss, the ring biting into her finger. It was quite a while before they came back up to the surface.

For the next few days Annabeth was teased mercilessly for failing to realise that her boyfriend had proposed to her. While she made her peace with one of her rare mistakes, she did not appreciate people bringing it up continously. Soon she was forced to pull out the small knife she kept on herself, but the ring sparkling on her finger kept a permanent smile on her face as she chased the poor soul caught on the wrong end of her weapon.

* * *

 _Quick note to those who read it and had no clue what the apple had to do with anything: Ancient Greek tradition dictated that when a guy threw an apple at a girl and she caught it, he's proposed to her. In short, Percy was a cheeky shit and for the first time Annabeth missed it._

 _Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this too (especially you, Kai)._

 _~Stella 3_


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